Gay Rights Flap Engulfs Simon

LATimes ^ | 9/4/02 | MICHAEL FINNEGAN and MATEA GOLD, TIMES STAFF WRITERS

[Aunt Polgara]

Politics: Under pressure from conservatives, the GOP candidate for governor denies signing supportive responses to questionnaire.

SACRAMENTO -- Under pressure from conservative supporters, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon Jr. on Tuesday disavowed his campaign's response to a gay rights questionnaire, saying someone signed his name on it without his approval.

The response to 24 questions from a gay rights group, the Log Cabin Republicans of California, included pledges to sign a Gay Pride Day proclamation and to support job benefits for partners of gay state employees.

[Aunt Polgara]

....sigh...proving once again that we are the stupid party. No further comment necessary.

[ohioman]

Who cares about the fag brigade. One (twisted) percent of the voting population does not make an election.

[Aunt Polgara]

Exactly my point.

Simon's campaign never should have gotten itself into this mess in the first place! They should have just kept their mouth shut!

First they poke their finger in their conservative base. Nothing like ticking off your most loyal workers, huh?

As if that wasn't enough, then they backpeddle and poke their finger in the eye of the leftists to make sure that both the right and the left are angry.

And this is the way to win an election???

[AmericanInTokyo]

I believe that satisfies me on this topic.

This is, after all, what many of us wanted, an explanation from Simon and a disavowal that he had anything to do with the Gay Cabin Club survey on sodomite rights. I also said I would 'drop it' if things could be made more clear. Now they have been.

I am rather pleased that Mr. Simon has disavowed the liberal group's questionnaire and that (providing he is being truthful) someone else did that.

Whomever was responsible needs to be canned. (or 'caned' as they do in Singapore!)

I'll cease my questioning of Simon now that this has been cleared up. Sorry for any hurt feelings on the part of Simonistas on this forum. Many of us have been sold down the rio in the past and so perhaps it was almost second nature to respond, in force, as strongly as we did.

[hchutch]

Quite frankly, I'm still angry about the attempted lynching of Simon. I don't know what the deal is, but frankly, I feel your reactions probably caused more damage than the initial questionnaire did. Now Davis is painting SIMON as the flip-flop artist, which won't help matters any in November.

[Aunt Polgara]

I am rather pleased that Mr. Simon has disavowed the liberal group's questionnaire and that (providing he is being truthful) someone else did that.

Simon had no choice but to disavow the questionnaire. The question is, of course, how could his campaign be so stupid as to get itself in this mess in the first place? It's nothing but a distraction that managed to tick everyone off.

He needs to be talking about education and energy and infrastructure and Davis' sqandering of the surplus, not Gay Pride celebrations.

[Bikers4Bush]

There are already too many Rhinos out there and this is a hot button issue that he deserved to be lynched on one way or the other. (Either he signed it and believed it or he didn't which means he has a problem with his staff)

Luckily for him he came down on the right side of the fence. The problem may be that it took him too long to do it.

[SierraWasp]

Can't you see the Davis campaign/media sycophant's hand in this? This is a tactic of the left to divide the right and it works every time it's tried. It works because conservatives are so violently reactive and sensitive to the slightest threat of our candidates not running a perfect campaign.

Why, we just throw up our hands and quit without questionning further what the other side is up to!!!

It's classic!

[Aunt Polgara]

Now Davis is painting SIMON as the flip-flop artist, which won't help matters any in November.

Can you blame Davis when Simon handed him the ammunition? I'm glad at least that this didn't happen in October, when it would have been much more damaging. I am still amazed that Simon's campaign was so clueless. I know Simon is a neophyte, but supposedly he has seasoned pros operating his campaign. How could they be so stupid???

[AmericanInTokyo]

I don't agree with the line of reasoning, but you are certainly entitled to your viewpoint. My only regret was that the candidate did not call in the LA Times or other news media source and disavow it IMMEDIATELY (due to it's inherent danger) in the terms he finally did today. This is quite late. Can't you see the absence of a clear statement that he had nothing to do with it (instead going through conservative State Senate intermediaries), cost him time and did not do anything to cool down fears of a sellout. You are wrong to get angry at conservatives on this one. We all asked him to do this numerous times directly and through this conservative site. The delay is not our fault.

[hchutch]

I'm sorry, but I am still quite furious over this.

The fact is that this attempted lynching only makes me distrust those who threatened to bolt. I'm sorry, but that's how I feel right now. I've seen a consevrative in my state get stabbed in the back by a RINO (Ollie North), and I'm against such back-stabbing and lynching no matter what quarter it comes from.

How are those who tried to lynch Simon going to EARN the trust of Republicans with actions like this? Trust is a two-way street, and the attempted lynching did NOT help Republicans trust conservatives.

[AmericanInTokyo]

I agree.

But you know, it's time to bury the hatchet, though, since he did disavow it in clear times (even if late).

The Gay Lobby won't like this--and 'GOOD!' is what I say. It's time to move forward and hope the Simon campaign gets better at damage control as the election approaches.

[chance33_98]

Gay Rights Flap Engulfs Simon

The problem is not simon, it is that headline. It should read more honestly 'Men who like to poke other men in the butt and pole smoke enraged that simon will not tell them they are just like everyone else'

[hchutch]

I'm sorry, but the trust between Republicans (particularly the leadership and the moderates in the GOP) and conservatives in my book MUST be a two-way street. Tell me, if YOU were Bil Simon, would you be able to TRUST the folks who tried to figurativbely lynch you over this issue, and who threatened to bolt? Let me tell you something, I wouldn't.

Let me lay this out very clearly: We have to be able to trust that moderates will not stab our people in the back after the primary. The leadership (and the moderates) need to be able to trust us not to do the same thing.

Until that trust exists, how can we expect the GOP to go to the mat for us?

[AmericanInTokyo]

Trust is not the issue. Not in politics when one has been sold down rivers ENDLESSY before by Rhinos in all states. We are tired of hearing of your broken record Virginia state anecdotes. Only adhering to conservative principles without wavering is what does it. Any crack in that, and all is under a cloud of suspicion.

Well, I suppose you can continue on with your rant, but you are only going to alienate further conservatives who got angry and threatened to take a walk, but who can easily be back in the fold. Isn't that what you wanted all along?

[Bikers4Bush]

I'd trust them more than Simon at this point. At least they had the guts to call him on it.

I doubt very seriously that the GOP is very interested in what conservatives think anyway. They seem more interested in going mainstream.

[AmericanInTokyo]

If I were a conservative, such as Simon, I would quite well understand the rage of fellow conservatives at such reports, because I myself will have had the experience of being sold down the river by RINOs moderating to the center. But, if I knew I had not put my imprimatur on such liberal gay garbage, I would equally be outraged by the doofus in my campaign that did it. I'd move lightning speed on such a big ticket political item as this to directly disavow it, and chastise/remove the wrongdoers and restore conservative trust.

Ok, Ok, so Simon is doing that now, albeit later than he should have. It works for me. Give it a break. ;-)

[hchutch]

No, I'm still angry about the lynching.

Too many conservaitves are willing to allow perfect to be the enemy of good enough. This mess might blow over, but it's going to make winning a lot harder, and some of us have a right to resent that.

As I have said, I've condemned RINOs who sold conservatives down the river. And I'll condemn conservatives who sell Republicans down the river equally. I'm not happy with this entire incident occuring at all. I'm sorry, but how can I trust those who threatened to bolt on Simon? Give me a reason to trust you.

[TatieBug]

Unfortunately, when given a chance, some of you continue to eat your own and at some point, I only hope it stops. We need to get it together and get Simon elected. This sidetract has probably saved Davis millions in ads as the R's have been doing his work. It's sad we can't learn but I will continue to voice my sadness and hope somebody notices.

[Taiwan Bocks]

Whomever was responsible needs to be canned. (or 'caned' as they do in Singapore!)

Hey! That's funny!
Phew!, I need to let off the tension since this bruhaha started!
Do you suppose it was so simple as someone put Simon's name on something?
I hope that's the way it works out,
and I hope it works out soon!!!!!!!!